Porsche knows how to kick off the new year in style. We are just a few days into 2024, and the iconic German manufacturer is already setting new records. On Tuesday, Porsche announced that its test driver Lars Kern has managed to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in an unnamed pre-production Taycan in just 7:07.55. The unbelievably quick lap time around the legendary German race track is 26 seconds faster than the current Taycan Turbo S. But, the bigger news is that it has also demolished the Tesla Model S Plaid’s previous record-holding 7:25.231 time by 17.681 seconds.
What an incredible way to start the year, right? But that’s not all! The yet-to-be-named Taycan variant is just two seconds off the Rimac Nevera’s EV record time of 7:05.298. Considering that the Nevera is a performance-focused hypercar with 1,914 horsepower, what the pre-production Taycan managed to achieve is simply amazing!
“Twenty-six seconds is half an eternity in motorsport. Lars’ lap time of 7:07.55 minutes on the Nordschleife is sensational, putting the Taycan in the same league as electric hypercars,” said Kevin Giek, the head of the model line. “And the impressive thing about it is that over several laps, Lars clocked almost exactly the same time.”
Porsche was so excited that it revealed the record-breaking lap time months before the official launch of the variant. The German automaker will reveal the updated Taycan range sometime later this year, along with the unnamed variant, which is rumored to be called the Turbo GT. No other details were released by the manufacturer, except for the lap time and a short video. A full-length video of the record-breaking lap will be released in mid-March, closer to the launch of the model. Porsche also claimed that the pre-production unit had received some minor modifications, which included a roll-cage and racing bucket seats.
We still have no official information on the upcoming variant of the Taycan that will sit at the top of the range. If the rumors are to be believed, the Taycan Turbo GT will feature a tri-motor setup, which will push the total power output beyond the 1000hp mark. It’s unclear if Porsche has made any changes to the battery pack for better performance, but the manufacturer claims that the car was able to run “several” laps in the range of the record time. This is a big deal as most EVs are unable to offer peak performance over a long stint on race tracks. We can’t wait for Porsche to reveal the range-topper!
